arts & entertainment

The Goldberg Variations

Jazz pianist-composer riffs on his life, career and
upcoming performances at the Detroit Jazz Festival.

Suzanne Chessler
I Contributing Writer

p

ianist and composer Aaron
Goldberg connects jazz to the
subconscious, and the con-
nection is not haphazard.
Besides studying at the New School
for Jazz and Contemporary Music in
New York City, he has explored psy-
chology disciplines at Harvard.
The effects of those connections
will be heard over Labor Day weekend
when he performs with the Joshua
Redman Quartet at the Detroit Jazz
Festival, one of many holiday events.
(See sidebar.)
"Because jazz is improvised music,
it's a direct route into the subcon-
scious," says Goldberg during a phone
conversation interrupting his move
from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
"When I'm playing jazz, I can't really
plan ahead of time. It's all going too
fast for the conscious mind to guide
it. A conscious mind can listen to
what's going on and make big-picture
decisions, but all the micro-decisions
are happening below the level of con-
sciousness.
"Personality works the same way. I
can control to a certain degree who I
am, but there are many aspects that are
just a product of my genes, past expe-
riences and subconscious. Jazz is an
expressional subconscious and, there-
fore, an expression of the personality."
Those kinds of expressions will enter
into quartet performances of music
from Redman's latest CD, Walking
Shadows, a mixture of repertoire that
quartet members have been playing
and original compositions written
separately by Redman, a saxophonist,
and Goldberg.
Joining the appearances, at 3:15-
4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, on the JP
Morgan Chase Main Stage and 4:15-

5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1, on the
Carhartt Amphitheater Stage, will be
Rueben Rogers on bass and Gregory
Hutchinson on drums.
Redman, artist-in-residence for the
festival, also will be performing with
the Wayne State University Big Band,
Motown Legends Choir and special
guests in celebration of the 50th anni-
versary of the Civil Rights Act.
"Our quartet first came together in
1998," says Goldberg, who appeared at
last year's festival. "We had a four-year
period when we were together, and
then we went our separate ways for
about 10 years. We came back together
almost two years age
"I grew up in Boston playing classical
piano," Goldberg says. "My parents both
played piano, and they kept one in the
living room. They thought taking piano
lessons was something that well-round-
ed 'renaissance' kids should do.
"I didn't know jazz existed until I
went to high school, where there was
a math teacher who worked as a jazz
bassist at night and convinced the
school to let him teach a jazz class. I
started listening to jazz cassettes while
learning how to play jazz."
After high school graduation,
Goldberg attended the New School
for Jazz and Contemporary Music and
went out every night to hear jazz art-
ists in the New York clubs before start-
ing to work with them. Transitioning
to Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., an
educational decision encouraged by
his parents, he performed with local
groups and spent summers in New
York.
After graduation, he again moved to
New York and built a career by touring
with various bands and starting his
own trio, but Goldberg missed being
in school. In 2005, he began working
toward a master's degree in philosophy
at Tufts University in Massachusetts

Aaron Goldberg

and completed requirements in 2010.
A long recording history — with
more than 75 CDs — brings him to his
latest project, which will be released in
the fall, combining Goldberg's original
compositions, his arrangements of jazz
classics and material from different
parts of the world.
"I also have been involved in an
ongoing project with Israeli bass-
ist Omer Avital, Lebanese American
percussionist Jamey Haddad and two
Palestinian musicians now living in
New York," he explains.
"We play an intersection of tradi-
tional Middle Eastern music from
Jewish and Arabic traditions brought
into a jazz context with a semi-political
bent. We talk about the dangers in the
Mideast as well as the cultural similari-
ties:'
Goldberg, 40 and single, feels
comfortable discussing Judaism with
Redman, who identifies as Jewish (his
mother is Jewish, and his father is
African American).
"My parents were more tradi-
tional about religion," the pianist says.
"Although my household was relatively
secular, I had a bar mitzvah and join
my family for the High Holidays. Josh's
mother didn't raise him in any par-
ticularly Jewish way. His connection is
ethnic and probably ethical:'
Goldberg, whose traveling schedule
prevents composing and practicing
routines, plays tennis and basketball
for relaxation and keeps up with his
university majors through reading.
Jungian psychology and Capital in the
Twenty-First Century are now claiming
his attention.
As someone who has played all
the major jazz festivals in the world,
I think the Detroit festival is the best
or one of the two or three best in
America," he says. "I feel Detroit is a
jazz city:'

❑

Joshua Redman

Labor Day Fests

Labor Day weekend offers many chances to
indulge interests in music, art and foods of all
sorts. Check websites for any changes before
heading out.

Michigan Peach Festival of Romeo: Aug. 28-
Sept.1. Savor peach pies amid carnival rides,
sports tournaments and craft shows.
www.peachfestromeo.com .

Arts, Beats & Eats: Aug. 29-Sept.1 in down-
town Royal Oak. Get involved with community
activities while enjoying music, artistry and
foods. Musicians include David Nefesh, Tino
Gross (Howling Diablos) and Kidz Klez of
Michigan. www.artsbeatseats.com .

The Detroit Jazz Festival: Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in

downtown Detroit. Performers include Steve
March-Torme (see story on page 66) and David
Berger's NYC Big Band. (313) 447-1248;
www.detroitjazzfest.com .

Michigan State Fair: Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at
Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
Experience the Shrine Circus, farming achieve-
ments, music and fun contests.
www.michiganstatefairllc.org .

Hamtramck Labor Day Festival: Aug. 30-Sept.
1. Take in parades, boat races and rides along
with ethnic music and foods.
www.hamtownfest.com .

Franklin Roundup: Sept.1, central Franklin.
See some fine art, participate in activities and
enjoy new treats. www.franklin.mi.us .

❑

The Joshua Redman Quartet performs at 3:15-
4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31, on the JP Morgan
Chase Main Stage and 4:15-5:30 p.m. Monday,
Sept.1, on the Carhartt Amphitheater Stage.
Free. www.detroitjazzfest.com .

ews

Nate Bloom

Special to the Jewish News

Say Cheese!

W

o
G

64

A new version of Candid Camera
premiered on TV Land earlier this
month. See new episodes at 8 p.m.
Tuesday nights and catch up on pre-
viously aired shows via On Demand
and/or free website viewing.
Allen Funt (1914-1999) created the
program, which ran in some form or

August 28 • 2014

JN

another from 1948-
1992, with Funt as
host.
The new version
is co-hosted and
produced by Allen's
son, Peter Funt, 67,
a TV/print journalist
Peter Funt
who helped produce
some of the earlier
Candid shows. Peter's co-host is
actress Mayim Bialik, 38.

World Cup Notes

Last week, I followed a lead and
found out that DeAndre Yedlin, 21,
a defender on the
American team
who saw action
in two World Cup
Games, is Jewish.
Born and raised in
the Seattle area,
he most recently
Yedlin
played for the

Sounders professional team and
recently signed with a top British
team.
His mother, Rebecca, now a
college sports instructor, had him
when she was very young, and
he was raised by his maternal
grandparents. DeAndre is now "very
close" to his mother (it doesn't
appear the same is true of his
father, who is not Jewish).

❑